Narratives
by Spy In Training
Summary: Narratives of what happened in Terrier, told from different characters' points of view. It was homework, now it's for fun! Please read and enjoy!
1. Mistress Noll

So, I had to do a book review on a book I had read, and I chose Terrier! Here is the book report! It is told in naratives. I hope you like it!

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Confession of Mistress Deirdry Noll

Given Wednesday, May 13th, 246 H.E., under Truthspell

Jane Street Kennel

"Oh I've always known Beka Copper. That Tansy Lofts too. I've knowed them from when we all lived on Mutt Piddle Lane. Why is this important? Well, if I am telling you about all this, I should start from the beginning.

"We was, all of us, barely getting by. Beka's poor mother with her lung rot, trying to raise Beka and her four siblings. And me trying to run my bakery and provide for my own. That Tansy was always stealing my works; I had to make up for the difference from my own pocket! I worked like a slave, to be able to get my family out, and all she ever did was take what was not hers and then she got the easy way out by marrying that Herun Lofts. It made me furious.

"Well, folk who got above themselves annoyed me too. One day after we had all moved away from Mutt Piddle Lane, I saw Amaya Painter walking down the street, wearing a ruby pendulum. She was no great mage; she had no use for the pendulum and here she was showing it off as if she were better than everyone else and her little brat kicking dust all over our market stalls. Well, she needed to be taught a lesson. I had my son Yates take her boy and I wrote her a note in charcoal saying that if she didn't leave the pendent in a temple, I would kill her boy. I signed it as the Shadow Snake. When she didn't leave the pendent, I had Yates dispose of the boy.

"I carried on like that for near three years. If I heard tell of someone who had something they oughtn't deserve I would send out Yates and his friends and send the family a note, signed as the Shadow Snake. In the beginning, not as many folks paid up, but, as word spread, more folks did.

"Then, a couple months ago, I head tell that Crookshank had found jackpots of opals, and was mining them in his houses. If I could get my hands on some of those opals, we could make a fortune. Stop having to work ourselves to death and stop with the Shadow Snake business. Yes, I was through with it. Once we had made our money, we were to be done. And here, also was my chance to get back at that brat, Tansy, for robbing me for all those years. Her son, Rolond, was to be first in line for the taking as Crookshank's great-grandson. She had taken away countless chances for me to have happiness, so I was going to take away hers. When Crookshank didn't pay up, I made sure Rolond didn't make it home, and then took Tansy's husband, Herun, leaving another note.

"It was around then that Beka started sticking her nose in. She was Tansy's good friend, see, and was investigating into the whole Shadow Snake business more than anyone had ever done before. Ran around, she did, talking to victims, asking about the ransom prices, talking to children who were gave back.

"I wouldn't have been too worried, except Beka wasn't too fond of Yates because she saw him bullying my good-for-nothing daughter, Gemma; she told her Dogs about it and they kept a close eye on him, to my great displeasure. See, they were regular customers. Always stopped by the stall for an eat while they were on duty. She had gotten wind of Crookshank's opal digging somehow, though I didn't know then.

"I sent Yates into hiding with his friends. I couldn't risk them, getting arrested for some other reason and then spilling the whole story when they were in the cages. They hid out at Sheepmire Tavern and took Lofts with them. It had sheds in the back, see. We _persuaded_ the innkeeper to let them stay and provide them with food.

"It was all going well until I heard that the Dogs had found one of Crookshank's mines, set the diggers free and arrested all those who were found to be working there. I wasn't too worried; Crookshank had been mining long enough to have a very good-sized stockpile of opals stored away. It was Beka and her dogs who were in charge of the investigation, though, and I defiantly became more wary of them.

"Then cam the day of the riot. We were all staying in the house, waiting until the riot had stopped. Beka Cooper walks in, in her Dogs uniform dripping from the rainstorm going on outside. Gemma brought her to my office. She told us both that She and her dogs had caught Yates and, after confessing to being the Shadow Snake, he had killed himself.

"But then she looked at me and told me that they knew he was not the Snake; that they knew it was me. She said that she had recognized the lily necklace that I wear as something I had taken for a ransom. She was right, but I don't have any idea how she recognized that necklace. She hobbled me, though I fought her, and walked me and Gemma all the way back to the Jane Street Kennel. That's where I am now. The trial's tomorrow, a special eclipse session. I always did like Beka, but I don't think I will ever be able to forgive her for what she did to me."

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Please, please review and check back in, there are two more comming!

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	2. Jack Ashmiller

Well, here's the second chapter! Speacial thanks must go to Mrs. Dom Masbolle!!!

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Jack Ashmiller to Tansy Lofts  
Wednesday, May 13th, 246 H.E.

"Of course I'll tell you the story of how I came to know Beka Cooper. Sit down; it's a long one. It all started when she and her Dogs came running into my house one night. They must have been on patrol and heard noises. See, my wife, Orva, had gone and drunk hotblood wine4, as she did sometimes. She was brandishing her good cooking knife at me and had the children pressed up in a corner. I have two girls and a younger boy. She was shouting and threatening on and on when Beka and them burst in. Goodwin, one of Beka's dogs, went to take the knife away from Orva, when Orva hit her on the jaw. Goodwin went down cold. Beka got this cold look on her face and when Orva jumped out of the window and started running away, Beka followed. Beka chased her over a mile before she finally caught Orva and arrested her, for hurting a Dog.

"I took the little ones to her trial. It might have been the last time they saw her for a long while. Orva was sentenced to five years work on a farm, out of Corus. It near killed them, but I knew it _was_ best. Orva was trouble. I apologized for her to Cooper the next day. My little ones were also planning on pelting her with rotten fruit and dung; I hope they didn't go through with it!

"But now the main source of money was gone and I still was out of work. There were very few jobs open. When I got word that someone was looking to hire some strong healthy folk to dig a well, I jumped on the chance. The fact that they didn't want us to speak of the work to anyone was odd, but I was that desperate. They hired me. We were to start the next night. So the next night I left the children in the house and set off.

"The thing was, when I got to the worksite, the folks who hired us put us into a cart, blind-folded us and took us to some house. The well there was already half dug, and there didn't seem to be any water in it. The guards at the house told us to dig, and be quick about it, or we'd see trouble. We dug. Turns out we were digging for these real shiny rocks, mining like. They fed us, but never allowed us to leave. I was worried sick for my children; surely the landlord had put them out by then.

"Then one afternoon, we heard a commotion at the door, upstairs (we was in the basement). Everyone looks up, and all these Dogs, Beka included, come running down the stairs and arresting all the guards. They said we were free to go. Beka found me and told me that she had found my kids on the street and taken them into her rooms until she found me and that I was welcome to stay with her too, until I could find work and another home. It was so kind of her. I took some fire opals that were lying around to sell. They would bring more than enough money for us to get started in another house. We're leaving later today. We'll definitely be back to see Beka in trial though. She'll shine for sure."

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There's at least one more part comming!! Stay tuned... or review!


	3. Beka Cooper

Here it is...the last segment! Sorry it took so long to update, my family went on vaction and we only just got back yesterday!

Thank you to Mrs. Dom Masbolle and FreakishlyObsessedVampyreGi...(your name was so long, the review thing cut it off)!!!

Enjoy!

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The Testimony of Trainee Guardswoman Beka Cooper

Given Thursday, May 14, 246 H.E.

Special Eclipse Session of the Lord Magistrate's Court

Corus, Tortall

"Well, um, as you know, I started my practical training as a Provost's Dog near a month and a half ago. I was lucky enough to assigned to Goodwin and Tunstall here. Anyway, um, it was right around then that my friend Tansy's little boy Rolond was kidnapped and killed. Not a good many people cared too much though. See Tansy had married Herun Lofts, Crookshank's grandson, so Rolond was his great-grandson. Of course, nobody much liked Crookshank, so they were just all glad he was getting his comeuppance. I cared though. I saw Tansy soon after I became a Puppy. She gave me a very sparkly stone, saying that she got it the day before Rolond was took and it was an ill omen.

"The next day we went to the court of the Rouge to fetch the weekly happy bag takings. When we were there, Crookshank came storming in yelling at the King of the Rouge. He said that the Rouge could not hide behind notes and the Rouge's 'Shadow Snake' had murdered Rolond. As if that were not puzzling enough, a little bag fell out of Crookshank's pocket and I picked it up. Inside were many more stones, just like the one Tansy gave me. We had them looked at by a mage, and he said that they were fire opals. How Crookshank had come across them, we had no idea.

"The next day or so, one of my Dust Spinners told me of nine murders (they live on corners and pick up talk, as well as dust, see. I have magic that lets me go inside 'em and listen to all that talk they pick up). The murders had been done all near the same time, and none of the killers had spoken a word. We decided to keep an eye out for any information about them. I was listening to the pigeons a few days later (pigeons carry the ghosts of the dead for a time and I can hear the ghosts with my magic), when I heard the ghosts of the murdered folk talking. There were nine in all. They had been hired to dig 'shiny stones' and told not to talk. When they were done, they were killed. I thought they were talking about the fire opals, and I was determined to find out who had hired them. I told Goodwin and Tunstall all I found out.

"Around this time I also told my friend, Ersken, who's also a Dog in training, about the Shadow Snake. Now we had four people looking for him. Later that day, Crookshank's house caught on fire right when Tunstall, Goodwin and I were passing. We went inside to help get people out, but Goodwin and I also searched Crookshank's rooms. We found the notes from the Shadow Snake. They were writ in ash, with a picture of a snake on them. They said that Crookshank had more blood to lose and they made me worried. I told my Birdies to look out for information on the Shadow Snake, and also the diggers too.

"One of my Birdies found out who many of the Snakes victims were. She and I went to see them all. We asked what had happened and what had been asked for. The Snake had asked for all manors of things, from mere money, to a lily pendent necklace to a ruby pendulum. I made a map, hung on the wall of my room, and stuck colored pins on for every Snake victim, looking for a pattern. Then Tansy's husband, Herun, was took. It made me want to find the Snake even more.

"I began to suspect Yates Noll. His mother, Mistress Noll, owned and ran a bakery and had stalls in both Night and Day Markets. I'd seen him being downright nasty to his sister, and his friends were thieves. He worked in his mother's stalls, and all of the kidnappings happened around the Markets. The biggest thing, though, was I that saw Mistress Noll wearing the same lily pendent as was described to me by a Shadow Snake victim. When my Dogs and I looked into him, he went into hiding. I put my Birdies to looking for him.

"In the mean time, we had found a lead on the diggers. One of the pigeon ghosts had talked about a guard named Jens. We heard of a Jens who was employed by Crookshank. It all fit. My Dogs and I, and some other Dogs too, were set to tail him. When we saw him and some other hard folk go into a boarded up building, we raided it. We had struck gold, or fire opals. In the building were eight diggers, all mining fire opals in the basement with Crookshank's guards keeping watch. We let the diggers go and arrested the guards. We figured with their testimony, we could go after Crookshank.

"There was a riot the next day (word came later the Crookshank had been killed in it, but we didn't know until after). We were waiting to see if we were needed, when one of my Birdies came and told us he had word of where Yates Noll was hiding out. He said they were in Sheepmire Tavern. We went straight there and raided their hideout. They had been keeping Herun Lofts tied up with them. We arrested Yates' three friends, but when we went to arrest him, he confessed that he was the Shadow Snake, and then killed himself. While my Dogs took the prisoners to Jane Street Kennel, I went to tell Mistress Noll that her son was dead.

"When I got there Mistress Noll was shouting at her daughter. She was still wearing that lily pendent. An inkling popped into my head. After telling her that Yates was dead, I hinted that I thought that _she_ was the Snake. She confessed. When I tried to arrest her, she attacked me, but I got her down here, to Jane Street. And, um, that's it.   
That's how the whole thing went."

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Well, hope you liked it!! You know what to do next!!! ;)


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